1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an electronic device management system and method, and more particularly, to a group-wise device management system and method for integrally controlling a plurality of interoperable electronic devices as a group.
2. Description of the Related Art
Diversified electronic devices include, for example, home electronic appliances, office machines, medical appliances, and industrial machines. Specifically, electronic devices include, for example, a Television (TV), a refrigerator, a laundry machine, a computer, an electric fan, an air conditioner, a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) player, an external speaker, a game console, a light controller, and others.
An electronic device management system has been provided for interconnecting the electronic devices placed in a predetermined area (e.g., a home, an office, or a hospital) into a network (e.g., a home network) by means of an intermediate device, such as Gateway (GW) with an Internet Protocol (IP). The electronic devices are controlled using an external device (e.g., a remote controller) connected to the intermediate device through a wired/wireless link.
In order to control the various types of electronic devices constituting a network, the external device is provided with device-specific control functions. More specifically, the conventional device management system operating with a network, which interconnects the electronic devices via a gateway, allows the devices to be controlled individually. Accordingly, even when it is necessary to control multiple electronic devices simultaneously, the user has to issue repeated control commands to the number of electronic devices. In the conventional system, when it is necessary to use a TV, a DVD player, and an external speaker system for watching a movie, the user has to power on the TV, DVD player, and external speaker system one at a time, by pushing the power buttons of the respective devices or those provided on a remote controller. Thus, the user has to repeat the same control action three times to power-on the tree electronic devices. The inconvenience of such a control mechanism increases as the distances between the devices increase.
As described above, the conventional device management system supports a per-device control, such that the user has to make the same control action repeatedly to control the interoperating electronic devices. Also, it is difficult for the user to be aware of the interoperability among the electronic devices using the conventional device management system.